Discography

NEW RELEASE: Ethica

“Music or philosophy? Scholium Secundum is, according to its title, merely an explanatory ‘note’ on this question, a footnote. We find ourselves at the very foundation of knowledge when we follow Spinoza's quoted and set-to-music reflections. ... Spinoza's question about knowledge has become a musical one.” (Lydia Jeschke, Whispered Knowledge in the CD booklet)

Ethica - Composition cycle based on Spinoza by Dániel Péter Biró, consisting of Scholium Secundum (extended version 2018-2022) and Nulla Res Singularis (revised version 2022).

Nulla Res Singularis was written on commission from KlangForum Heidelberg for SCHOLA HEIDELBERG and ensemble aisthesis. The composition is based on a text by Baruch de Spinoza (1642-1677) and was first performed at KlangForum Heidelberg's DIKTATUREN festival in 2017, later also in the USA and Canada, among other places.

The first version of Scholium Secundum was also premiered by Walter Nußbaum at the Swiss Philosophical Society's symposium „Was ist Geist?“ (What is Mind?) in Basel in 2018.

The complete Ethica cycle was performed for the first time in Basel in 2022.

"In The Hague, I lived not far from Spinoza's grave and residence: although Spinoza was one of the greatest philosophers of the 17th century, he was banished from the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam because his views on God and nature were too radical for the time. In his philosophical treatise Ethics, Spinoza attempted to introduce a new kind of theology that was independent of organized religion ... . Since Spinoza was unable to publish his Ethics during his lifetime and participate in Jewish life, he was forced to live “outside” the official culture of his time. He went into internal exile. ...
Even though Spinoza was unable to publish his works during his lifetime, his profound way of thinking still gives us hope and comfort in our time of political oppression." (Dániel Péter Biró in the booklet)

The recordings took place from February 26 to March 2, 2024, at the University of Bergen (Norway), where the composer has been teaching as a professor since 2018.

Performers include SCHOLA HEIDELBERG with Sarah M. Newman (soprano), Peyee Chen (mezzo), Barbara Ostertag (alto), Luciano Lodi (baritone), and Martin Backhaus (bass), as well as the ensemble aisthesis with Moritz Ter-Nedden and Jacobo Hernández Enríquez (violins), Kirstin Maria Pientka (viola), Jessica Kuhn, and Ralph-Raimund Krause (violoncelli). Ekkehard Windrich was involved in the rehearsal/arrangement, and Walter Nußbaum was the musical director.

The CD, which—like "Eros und Gewalt" (2024)—has now been released by the Leipzig label GENUIN, is available (here with us) for €15.